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Ring of Fire (anthology)
Ring of Fire is the third published book of editor-author-historian Eric Flint's 1632 series, an alternate history series begun in the novel 1632. Ring of Fire is both descriptive of the cosmic event as experienced by the series' characters, but also is at times used as the name for the series itself. The series is set in war torn Europe during the middle of the Thirty Years' War in the era when the modern world was aborning— in a time when religion was a pretext for war veiling ambition or greed and authoritarianism held a hard hand around the throat of the populace imposed by both religion and governments. Ring of Fire is a collection of short stories —half by a variety of established science fiction authors invited into the setting, half fan-fiction by enthusiasts who helped take the stand alone novel into a series numbering works in the tens of books; all set in the universe initially created by Flint's science fiction novel 1632 written as a stand-alone novel and turned into a series by popular demand. Unlike most short works in a novel created series, the stories within are important milieu shaping creations—story threads which are formalized into the series canon for they helped establish it, and act as a spring board for further developments in the books. Many characters debut in these short stories who play an important role in subsequent longer works. Stories "In the Navy" :By David Weber Weber's short story sets up major story elements that play out in 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War. In particular, the story tells how the New United States (NUS) Navy (and that of future Empire of the United States of Europe (USE)) came to be in the resource strapped days of 1632–33. Most notably, through the eyes and experiences of young Eddie Cantrell , the story begins the rehabilitation of John Chandler Simpson who was cast as quite unlikeable in 1632. Through the eyes of Simpson, Cantrell and fellow up-timers Jere Haygood and Pete McDougal we get a picture of the chaos involved in rebuilding Magdeburg after the city was sacked by Tilly's forces. "To Dye For" :By Mercedes Lackey To Dye For introduces the absent minded purveyor of Tom Stone and his three sons as he strives for respectability in the eyes of guildmaster Karl Jurgen Edelmann, father of spinster Magdalena Edelmann, a love interest of Tom Stone. As a daughter of a guildmaster, Magdelena was wasting away as a spinster in her early thirties until a delegation from her town visited Grantville and she met her soul-mate, Tom Stone. His initial courting was received with favor, until her father decided "Stoner" wasn't the man of means he'd mistaken him to be. "Stoner" is the last adult in the former seventies Lothlorian Commune and had been enticed away from Pharmacology graduate school by a hippy "Chick" named Lisa, who is Faramir's (Frank Stone) mother as acknowledged son of Stoner. In the free love community of Lothlorien, whether "Elrond" (Ronald Stone) "might be" his is a question he has long abandoned, but it is genetically certain that the "Stop sign red" colored hair of "Gwaihir" (Gerry Stone) makes him someone else's boy, who is nonetheless being raised as one of his own. As the beginning of the story, a glum Stoner is introduced to Dr. James Nichols by Mike Stearns, and the two have come by to pick up a horse drawn cart load of Stoner's "patented West Virginia Wildwood Weed" (which originated in a pilgrimage to Holland) that Stoner uses as an emergency cash crop grown in his ramshackle home-made greenhouse from various junk automobile sections, windows thrown in the trash, and a lot of effort and ingenuity. Stoner, who is particular adept with recreational extra-sensory stimulatory compounds, especially as a pharmacological graduate school drop-out from Purdue University refuses to take payment for the weed, saying repeatedly that he wouldn't make money off of other peoples pain. Klaus turns even that, "Dat earns you a place in Heaffen, maybe, but on Earth, no income." A matter which becomes the topic of a general family discussion after the medical visitors have left, brought up by the boys. Soon, the family conference reminded Stoner of a past fiasco at a town fair where a cloud-burst had ruined the sales of many exotically tie-dyed tee-shirts, also ruining what would have been a great day as the tee-shirts hadn't been processed to set the dye into the cloth—inadvertently dyeing many a now irate customer. But Stoner knew how to make things colorfast, he was in fact a very good chemist, and had loads of left over dyes here and there on the grounds. Soon, with the boys eager help, the Stones had gone into series production of embroidery yarns, as the product which would stretch the dyes and return the maximum in income. Karl Edelman was impressed and Stoner had a new life partner, one who had a ruthless business savvy that he'd never own. As the story closes, Stoner is recalling the history early organic dyes leading up to the Mauve Decade, when coal-tar dyes such as Perkin's mauve were developed and generated huge fortunes for the ready market existed in the mindset of status-conscious Europeans of the day, as they did in 1631-32 Germans. The neat thing, was it would be ecologically sound for the dyes needed could be taken from the coal fired power plant with the addition of scrubbers on the chimneys. Splitting the profits bothered Stoner not a bit. They would be huge. "A Lineman For the Country" :By Dave Freer Scottish military dispatch carrier Douglas Lawrey falls in with telephone repairman Len Tanner and irascible coal mine switchboard operator Ellie Anderson. Due to their limited people skills, the technologically stranded pair have been unable to convince anyone to develop telecommunications abilities beyond Grantville. After Ellie reveals the old-tech phone she has been prototyping, Douglas talks them into forming a corporation. While stringing the first phone line to nearby Saalfeld, Len and a downtime assistant are captured by a group planning to hijack a Grantville gun shipment. In the struggle, the prototype phone is damaged, but the trussed up Len finds the battery and wires and manages to send an SOS to Grantville. After foiling the hijack, Ellie realizes that the old-tech phone was still too high tech for the time period. Morse keys can be manufactured quickly, and investors found to fund the telegraph wire network. "Between the Armies" :By Andrew Dennis "Biting Time" :By Virginia Easley DeMarce "Power to the People" :By Loren K. Jones A technically plausible description of what happens at the power plant in the immediate aftermath of the Ring of Fire event. There is panic, of course, but also resourcefulness as the plant's staff struggles to recover from an event they don't understand. "A Matter of Consultation" :By S. L. Viehl The story expands on the character Sharon Nichols and introduces nurse Ann Jefferson, a classmate of Nichols whom he pairs with Nichols in this story. Nichols and Jefferson face off against Dr. William Harvey, the "discoverer" of the circulatory system, and the two nurses "give him some pointers", including a severe dressing down. Concurrently, Anne Jefferson meets her future husband, diplomat and mathematician Adam Olearius who is traveling as diplomat and guide to Harvey in this story. Dr. Harvey visits Grantville, and its libraries, and as a courtesy, has some medical books copied for him. While spending time in Grantville he discovers encyclopedia's and has pages detailing English History copied at the end of his stay. Charles I of England later uses these warnings of the revolution to change England to repress the future revolution. "Family Faith" :By Anette M. Pedersen Johannes Grünwald, an artist forced by his mother's family to become a Jesuit priest, returns hunted, poor and starving to his family estate near Grantville. Johannes is welcomed by his old playmate Frank Erbst, who is now caring for the estate. The Grünwald family has a complex religious history. Johannes' stiff-necked protestant brother Marcus allowed his beloved Catholic wife to raise their son Martin Catholic. After his wife's death, however, Marcus tried to force Martin and his wife Louisa to baptise their son Johann as a Protestant. To escape, Martin joined Tilly's army. Due to the turmoil of war, young Johann went missing. He is believed to be in Grantville, but Marcus regards Grantville as evil and has forbidden Frank to go there. Johannes explains that he lost faith after the sack of Magdeburg and was unable to continue his task of drawing pictures of the war. He was arrested for heresy and blasphemy, and placed under guard. He escaped and walked to the estate, but the corpses he found in farmhouses along the way tormented him. Frank gives drawing materials to Johannes, who wrestles with his demons. When soldiers arrive on the estate, Johannes expects to be taken prisoner. However, they are Americans, and they take him back to Grantville. "When the Chips are Down" :By Jonathan Cresswell and Scott Washburn "When the Chips are Down" explores some of the issues involved in "gearing down". Larry Wild is one of the Four Musketeers introduced midway through the novel 1632, and is the central character in the tale which involves both Larry's employment in one of Grantville's machine shops, where he demonstrates a regretable inconsistency, an inability of always paying proper timely attention and so breaks on occasion valuable and irreplaceable machine tool cutting heads. Most of the story involves preparations for a Christmas celebration which Larry presses forward with despite experience and difficulties and displays quite humorous adverse interactions with members of the extended family of Jeff and Gretchen Higgins, and especially the formidable grandmother Veronica Richter. "American Past Time" :By by Deann Allen and Mike Turner "Skeletons" :By Greg Donahue Downtimer Gerd is concerned that many Germans who were formerly Tilly's soldiers have been welcomed into Grantville's army. He recognizes a trio that he served with, whose atrocities sickened him until he fled the group. The trio deserts, taking their valuable uptime guns and robbing several Grantville houses to get ammunition. Gerd knows their destination: a farm where they tortured and killed an old man for his wealth, then hid the loot in an outhouse. He ambushes them, and the loot is donated to a Grantville church. "A Witch to Live" :By Walt Boyes Veronica Junius, daughter of the burgomaster of Bamberg who was burned as a witch, has also been tortured and found guilty of witchery by ecclesiastical court. She escaped, but was captured. Inquisitor Eberhardt suggests taking her to Würzburg for civil trial before she can be burned, but the Captain insists on bringing her to Suhl, where she will have no friends to aid her. Jesuit Friedrich von Spee, historical author of a treatise against using torture in witchcraft trials, is asked by the prince-bishop of Mainz to observe. Suhl has been accepted into the United States, and Veronica's previous trial is found invalid there due to the forced confession. She is sent to Grantville "for a new trial", where she is given medical treatment and comforted by Father Mazarre. She explains that in the four years since her father was burned and all his property seized, she could only support herself via prostitution. Discussing witch hunts, Mazarre recalls a historical figure that they should recruit - von Spee, who then introduces himself. "The Three R's" :By Jody Dorsett Due to the Counter-Reformation, The Unity of the Brethren church has been expelled from Liechtenstein and Bohemia, and driven underground in Poland. Trying to keep the church alive in exile, Bishop Comenius sends Deacon Billek to Grantville to see if they can help. Grantville and the Brethren agree on two important issues: religious tolerance and education. Billek finds that Grantville cannot assist the Brethren where they are, but offers sanctuary for any refugees. However, union agitator Red Sybolt is moved by their plight, and accompanies Billek on his return trip to teach the three R's: "reading, righting and revolution." "Here Comes Santa Claus" :By K. D. Wentworth "The Wallenstein Gambit" :By Eric Flint The stories: "A Lineman For the Country", "The Three R's", and "Here Comes Santa Claus" are tied into The Wallenstein Gambit. Set in December 1632—Spring 1633, Albrecht von Wallenstein was near-fatally wounded by the sniper fire of sharp shooting Julie Sims at the Battle of Alte Vesta. Wallenstein decides he'd prefer to ally with Gustavus and the Americans rather than face the assassination the Americans' history books have him slated for in 1634. He'd also rather not face them or Gustavus again in battle, and in particular not the American rifles which mutilate his jaw and put him in declining health since he could not ingest solids. His damaged jaw was also the reasoned that he allied with his former enemies as believed that only the American's medical health care could fix his jaw. Wallenstein plots (together with Gottfried Pappenheim) to expel imperial administrators from Bohemia and depose the absent Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria, then also king of Hungary (1625) and Bohemia (1629) whilst he was occupied opposing the Ottoman Empire while his father Ferdinand II prosecuted the Thirty Years' War triggered by his reign in Bohemia. Meanwhile, Len Tanner and Ellie Anderson (see "Lineman for the Country" ) come to install a telephone system for Wallenstein's residence in Prague, and a Jewish couple, Morris and Judith Roth from Grantville settles in Prague and gains influence in Josefov, the Jewish quarter. Wallenstein's coup succeeds, but however he take his army out of Prague to meet Ferdinand's army in the "Second Battle of the White Mountain". Mercenary leader Heinrich Holk decides to exploit their absence and attack the city. However, successors of religious hussites ("The Brethren") and the Jewish population band together as citizen defenders of Prague, led by elderly American Morris Roth, who amazes himself by becoming a popular leader: "don Morris, hidalgo of Jews". Category:1632 series